COMBATING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has been proved right, writes Wale Bamide

The 2020 Coronavirus pandemic that ravaged the world and threw humanity into unprecedented disarray and chaos is yet to abate. Nations reputed to be leaders in medicine and pharmaceutical science quaked as the death toll rose. The virus that reportedly broke out in the Chinese town of Wuhan has killed millions and ruined others.

The deadly pandemic in history is not only a health pandemic. It evolved into an economic and relational pandemic. Global economic activities were brought to a halt. Nations and households groaned as incomes plummeted disastrously. Industries and sectors that could not leverage technology in their production mix missed out. They faded away in the post-COVID-19 era. It was a litmus test for leaders globally, whilst some maximised the adversity for development, many others were helpless and made matters more precarious.

It was also a period of revelation. Many nations, especially in the third world with obsolete health facilities, were exploring internal solutions to the greatest public health crisis in centuries. The foreign partners are not ready to lend a helping hand as they were badly hit by the pandemic. They need to save their people too. Ventilator, a device that assists sufferers of respiratory distress became scarce as many victims of COVID-19 urgently needed it for survival.

The Trump Presidency in the United States invoked powers of the Defence Production Act to compel companies to manufacture items in short supply that would aid in the U.S. response to the deadly coronavirus.

Big American corporations such as General Motors, General Electric, Hill-Rom, Medtronic, ResMed, Royal Philips, Vyaire Medical and 3M got cracking, churning out ventilators, other critical medical devices and supplies at a neck-breaking pace to save their people.

In Nigeria, as the nation stood the risk of mass fatality, a leading figure that stuck his neck out for the preservation of the people in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic was the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila. He belled the cat on the proposed Control of Infectious Disease Bill that mischief makers and fifth columnists twisted and turned into a controversial subject.

Yet, Gbajabiamila was only acting in public interest. The Speaker was only concerned on how to avert a major public health crisis at a time Nigeria was plagued with dearth of medical infrastructure and personnel. He averred that the bill, if passed into law, would mitigate the recklessness of the few who might want to endanger many Nigerians.

But he was vilified, lampooned and hounded for seeking public good. “When the House last sat in session on Tuesday the 28th of April 2020, we considered the proposed Control of Infectious Diseases Bill, amongst other things. Since then, there has been a barrage of criticisms and accusations, including allegations that the proposed bill is a product of inducement by foreign interests. The bill, which is still a proposal subject to consideration, amendment and improvement has been assailed as a sinister attempt to turn Nigerians into guinea pigs for medical research while taking away their fundamental human rights’, the Speaker lamented.

The Speaker dismissed the tales of mischief makers saying, “Suffice it to say that none of these allegations are true. Unfortunately, we now live in a time when conspiracy theories have gained such currency that genuine endeavours in the public interest can quickly become mischaracterized and misconstrued to raise the spectre of sinister intent and ominous possibility.

“This House of Representatives will never take any action that purposes to bring harm to any Nigerian here at home or abroad. As we have thus far shown by our conduct, the resolutions and actions we take in this 9th House of Representatives will always be in the best interests of the Nigerian people who elected us, and no one else”.

Despite the unabated missiles fired from many quarters, Gbajabiamila boldly declared that, “In the recent uproar, certain fundamental truths have been lost and are worth remembering. Our current framework for the prevention and management of infectious diseases is obsolete and no longer fit for purpose. The current law severely constrains the ability of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to take proactive action to prevent the entry into Nigeria of Infectious diseases and the management of public health emergencies when they occur. Even now, the government remains vulnerable to claims that some directives already being implemented to manage the present crisis do not have the backing of the law and therefore cannot withstand judicial scrutiny.

“I disagree wholeheartedly with the suggestion that this is not the ideal time to seek reforms of the infectious diseases and public health emergency framework in the country. The weaknesses of the present system have already manifested in the inability of the government to hold to proper account those whose refusal to adhere with NCDC guidelines led to the further spread of the coronavirus in Nigeria. We have had people break out from isolation centres, and others, who were fully aware of their status, chose to travel across state lines on public transport.

“The number of those currently infected by the coronavirus continues to rise alongside the number of those who have died. There is no timeline for when this disease will pass, and nobody can predict when the next public health crisis will occur, just as nobody predicted the present predicament. It bears restating that we do not have in our country, a healthcare system or for that matter, a national economy that is sufficiently robust to withstand the dire consequences of a sustained infectious disease pandemic. We cannot tie our own hands in the fight against this disease.”

The Speaker ended the historic remark of 5th May, 2020 with the fact of a new normal. He said, “Whether we choose to accept it or not, the world we live in has changed irretrievably. There is no ‘normal’ to return to as this present crisis has laid bare the fundamental weaknesses in our systems of law and policy and left our nation at risk of devastating outcomes on all sides. Our current task is first to survive and then to set about building a new world. Inevitably, this demands that we should be willing to consider new ideas, explore novel possibilities, rejecting those ancient shibboleths we have long adhered to without benefit”.

Looking back, as the deadly virus mutated with more virulent variants like Delta and now Omicron, the proposals that Femi Gbajabiamila made in April 2020 is gaining traction. The federal government has mandated civil servants to get vaccinated. The Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) could not allow workers in without showing the vaccination card. similar mandates have come to Lagos. What the speaker was vilified for yesterday, he will be consecrated for now.

Gbajabiamila deserves commendations for the courage of his conviction.